Tuesday,
March 27, 2007
The
ANNOTICO Report
By
Jess Wisloski
Daily News Staff Writer
Monday,
March 26th 2007,
The city could be
saying arrivederci
to the famed Feast of San Gennaro.
Little
"No one
likes San Gennaro who lives here," said Sean Sweeney, a member of the
community board's street events committee, which voted against issuing permits
for the feast.
"The thing
is a mess. ... Residents complained the feast is a terrible burden to the
neighborhood."
Lovers of spicy sausages, funnel cake and yardstick daiquiris take heart:
Community Board 2 does not have the final say.
It's City Hall's
Community Assistance Unit that ultimately issues the necessary permits, taking
the community board's recommendation into consideration.
But it's the
first time in the feast's nearly 80-year history that it has faced open
rebellion from residents. "[The feast] used to be a reflection of the
community," said one board member, who asked to remain anonymous.
"They've
become homogenized, with the same vendors selling the same stuff, the same
food, the same underwear."
The full board -
which typically rubber-stamps the decisions of the subcommittee - stopped short
of voting down the feast's applications after it was noted that San Gennaro
organizers weren't present at this past Thursday's committee meeting.
The neighborhood
board has put off a final decision on whether to recommend issuing the permits
until its next meeting, on April 17.
Annamaria Dellacampo,
director of operations for the Feast of San Gennaro, said she wasn't even aware
the fate of the festival was up for discussion at Community Board 2's committee
meeting two weeks ago.
"We were not
notified of any meetings or anything," Dellacampo
said. "We've been cooperating with the City of
Dellacampo said her organization
filed its street permits with the Community Assistance Unit in December and
remains confident each permit will be approved.
"This is not
a street fair. San Gennaro is a festival of the patron saint of
The festival had
long been controlled by the mob until former Mayor Rudy Giuliani moved to clean
up the operation. In 1997, seven Genovese crime family gangsters pleaded guilty
to extortion and other charges in connection with the event.
"Residents
complained it was better organized when the Mafia ran it," Sweeney said.
Dellacampo said the fight is far
from over.
"With all
due respect to the community board - our feast is not canceled," Dellacampo said.
With Lisa Colangelo
and Sarah Portlock
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/
2007/03/26/2007-03-26_famine_for_big_feast_.html
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